CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has ordered notice to the state government seeking a reply to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition praying for safe footpaths for pedestrians and bus shelters for commuters in Chennai city.
The vacation bench of Justices PT Asha and N Senthilkumar directed the state government, Greater Chennai Corporation and the other respondent authorities to file the reply by May 29 and adjourned the petition.
The Public Interest Litigation was filed by G Devadoss Gandhi Wilson of Chennai. He stated that it is almost a nightmare for the public to walk along the road in many places where barricades, which have been placed for the Chennai Metro Rail Limited work, have occupied the pedestrian pathway.
Moreover, speeding bikers are endangering the lives of pedestrians on the streets, with school children and elderly people suffering the worst, he said.
Apart from the lack of pedestrian pathways, the absence of bus shelters for commuters is also a major problem in the city, he stated adding that the commuters have to bear the brunt of the scorching sun as they have to stand in the makeshift bus stops where there are no shelters, the petitioner said.